In her youth, the expression "lady of Balzac's age" sounds for a girl as a delicate or even sarcastic allusion to the old age of a woman. So, where did such a phrase come from and what does it really mean.
How old is the lady of "Balzac's age"?
Visitors to online communities and dating forums sometimes discuss the topic of what age can be called "balzac". Usually, the fair sex insist that such a definition refers to the period of 30-40 years.
The majority of men, in turn, believe that a lady of “Balzac's age” is 40 and older. The difference in the explanation of the meaning of this expression is largely determined by how people understand the concept of "maturity".
Some contemporaries, familiar with foreign prose and biography of the classics, are sure that in this matter it is necessary to proceed from how old the first mistress of the young Balzac was. However, there is also no consensus on this score. The fact is that in various publications of articles about the personal life of the writer, different facts are indicated.
Some authors insist that in his youth, Honoré had an affair with a 42-year-old woman, while others claim that she was 53 years old. Therefore, in attempts to define the concept of "Balzac age" confusion arises. So how old was she: 42 or 53? In reality, both versions are wrong.
"Balzac Age": a little history
In 1842, the French writer Honore de Balzac published his novel, A Woman of Thirty. This work tells about the sublime feeling of "forbidden love", opposed to the primitive coexistence in marriage. The novel, evoking a response in society, made the author even more popular.
Today, few would call a 30-year-old woman old. Recent statistical studies confirm that it is at this age that the fair sex becomes the most sexy. In addition, the ability to take care of your appearance, combined with an active lifestyle, make modern ladies irresistible even in a much more mature age.
However, one should not forget that a woman in the Balzac era was a powerless creature. Her life was spent in a confined space between the children, the kitchen and the church. Only a successful marriage was able to make her happy. The girl was considered a promising bride only up to 18-19 years old. Already at the age of 20 and older, her chances of getting married were significantly reduced.
Few people were interested in an unmarried 30-year-old woman, and her existence dragged on very monotonously.
But family life at that time was also rarely successful for anyone. Since the most important issue in marriage was financial, the young bride usually remained just an additional annex to the contract. The wife, deprived of the right to her own opinion, became a living toy in the hands of her husband.
A married woman of 30 years in the Balzac era was considered an old woman. However, she could shine at balls in elegant outfits, emphasizing the high status of her husband.
A married woman was allowed to be attractive to other men, but with one important condition: she had to be inaccessible to them.
Excellent upbringing, a natural mind, a broad outlook, education and the sad need to be the property of a husband in years, who does not at all care about satisfying the emotional, sexual and spiritual needs of his wife - such is the sad fate of Honore's heroine.
Thus, the correct answer to the question "Balzac's age is how much?" - after thirty. Women of this age especially liked this French writer. According to Balzac, a lady at the age of 30 was matured spiritually and physically for harmonious family relationships. However, in the conditions of bourgeois society, she was forced to grow old ahead of time and fade in marriage with an unloved husband, or lead a double life under pain of exposure. Fortunately, those days are long gone.
